Fill area gap in radar coverage
When the skies darkened and a tornado watch was declared for much of South Carolina Monday, residents in the affected counties no doubt hoped that officials would provide accurate news about the formation of a tornado or severe thunderstorm. Unfortunately, though, Upstate South Carolina and Mecklenberg County are at a distinct disadvantage in being able to detect dangerous weather in time to warn people.
Thankfully, a measure likely to be approved by Congress could change that. Once final changes to a bill are approved in the House, the National Weather Service will begin a study of gaps in Doppler radar coverage across the nation, and Charlotte is the likely site for a new radar system.
A pair of North Carolina lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, have been lobbying for a radar unit in the Charlotte area. They point to a 2012 tornado that struck eastern Mecklenburg County in 2012.
The twister went undetected, and victims received no warning. More than 40 homes were destroyed or damaged, although no one was killed or seriously injured.
The 80-mile distance between Charlotte and the nearest Doppler unit – at the National Weather Service office in Greer – is the longest in the nation for a major city. That radar unit is about 65 miles from Rock Hill.
According to area meteorologists promoting this bill, no other city the size of Charlotte has a radar farther than 58 miles away. Experts say that proximity to a storm helps determine what radar units can detect.
Tornadoes usually drop from a cloud formation no more than 4,000 feet off the ground. But the center of the beam of the Doppler radar in Greer passes 7,500 feet over Charlotte, making it difficult, if not impossible, to spot the spiral of a forming tornado.
This is a serious oversight. The radar gap puts major population areas in danger in a region that is no stranger to severe storms.
We hope this bill soon becomes law and that the National Weather Service decides to install a Doppler radar system in the Charlotte area. Thousands of residents in both Carolinas are likely to sleep better knowing forecasters will be better equipped to accurately track big storms before they strike.
This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Fill area gap in radar coverage."